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Bidding Quiz February 28th, 2007
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Board 1 Dealer North None Vul
N-S are in a strong auction, perhaps even game-forcing. We have more than our share of HCP’s, but absolutely no reason to get involved! We have no realistic expectation of being able to compete for the final contract, our suit is moderate and we only have 5 of them, and our hand is shapeless to boot. Bidding 2♥ here is hardly preemptive and just gives the opponents another way of getting a top board (as in 2♥ doubled down 3). Need we say more?
Board 2 Dealer East N-S Vul
Given our non-vulnerability and Partner’s Pass over 3♣, it’s fair to assume that he does not have a 6th Spade. However, the presence of a mere 8-card fit in this situation should not inhibit us from pushing on to 3♠. We’d bid 3♠ with almost any non-awful, non-defensive hand, but here it is a complete no-brainer, considering our shortness in Clubs.
Board 5 Dealer North N-S Vul
What does North’s Double show? Clearly not Responsive, N-S have already found a Spade fit. No, it’s just showing a good hand. How good, and what hand-type? Here are some hands that she won’t have: - She won’t be distributional, with such a hand she would bid game or make a game try. - Surely not a 6th Spade, that would call for some number of Spades or a game try - Not a 1NT opening bid
What does that leave? We’d say 5-3-3-2 type of shape, and whatever North thinks is too good to open 1NT. Now, over to South. She also has a nondescript shape, and no real reason to bid on to the 3-level. This is a hand where Total Trick logic works to perfection: - We have 8 trumps (if we believe Partner’s bidding, as of course we always do) - They have 8 trumps (again, if we believe Partner) - Therefore there are 16 total trumps and a reasonable expectation of 16 total tricks - We have the preponderance of HCP’s by far, and may be able to make game - If we can make 10 tricks, they can make but 6, and the resulting +500 (defending 3♥ doubled) is better than our game - If we can make 9 tricks, they can make 7, and +300 beats our 3♠ part-score - If both sides can make 8 tricks, then again we want to defend at the 3-level - Finally, if they really can make 9 tricks with their 8-card fit and puny HCP total, then all we have to say about that is “Rats!”
On the actual hand it turns out that we make 9 tricks, and they make 7. So, defending brings in +300 on a part-score hand. Nice going, N-S!
Board 8 Dealer West None Vul
Most partnerships use 2NT here as “Unusual”, showing the lower unbid suits, in this case Clubs and Hearts. But it’s best to reserve that bid for weak hands, using it primarily as a preemptive maneuver. It’s also playable to bid 2NT here with really strong hands, planning to keep bidding all the way up to at least the 4-level. But this South hand does not qualify for that … sure, it’s a very nice hand indeed, but not a hand that wants to bid that high. So, a simple 1♥ is called for here, planning to bid as high as 3♣ unaided, later in the auction.
Board 9 Dealer North E-W Vul
West’s 2♦ was an Inverted Raise, showing a limit raise or better in Diamonds, and denying possession of a 4-card major. What would you do now as East? You could futz around by bidding 2♥ or 2♠, of course, scientifically bidding your way to the almost inevitable 3NT contract. We would suggest a jump directly to 3NT (showing 18-19) without any messing around, being reluctant to tell the opponents too much about the hand, and reassured by the fact that Partner usually has something in Clubs on this auction (he has denied the majors, after all). But rebidding 3NT is not purely a stealth maneuver, it’s also a good way for us to convey our considerable extra values … if we were to bid 2♥ or 2♠, and then West were to bid 3♣, what next? … it’s far from obvious how the auction should proceed from there.
Board 11 Dealer South None Vul
Obviously we are not going to let them play it in 2♠, but the real question is whether we will let them play 3♠. Given that we have a minimum of 10 combined Hearts, the answer is certainly “No!” The next question is “Will they actually bid 3♠?” We don’t know for sure, but it seems most likely that they will, they are non-vulnerable and one of the opponents is void or singleton in our suit, so the chances of buying it in 3♥ seem small. Therefore, we suggest an immediate 4♥ bid here, we’ll probably have to bid it eventually, so let’s do so right away, putting the opponents under pressure.
To see this 4♥ bid in action, consider the dilemma of poor West, who holds: ♠ 9843 ♥ 94 ♦ A62 ♣ AJ42 Over a 3♥ bid by South, West has a comfortable 3♠ bid, describing his hand rather well. But over 4♥ he can hardly not support Partner’s Spades, even though he knows that 4♠ is something of an overbid.
The bottom line on this board is that both sides can make 9 tricks, and pushing the opponents overboard to 4♠ is a good result for N-S.
Board 13 Dealer North Both Vul
First of all, how about that 2♥ bid on the previous round of bidding? We are pretty much maximum for that bid, with a bit of shape or a tad more in HCP’s we would be jumping to show invitational values. Does that mean we should compete to 3♥ now? Maybe 3♥ is the place to be, but we don’t know for sure, and we cannot even be certain that Partner has 4 Hearts. It must be better to offer Partner a choice, we would double here, showing general values, and letting Partner decide.
On the actual deal, after our Double of 2♠, Partner will have a tough choice between Pass and 3♥. Pass is the winner (+200), and 3♥ is touch and go for -100 or +140, but at least our Double gives Partner the chance of doing the right thing, whereas bidding 3♥ gives her no options at all.
Board 17 Dealer North None Vul
We generally invite to game with decent 8-counts, does this qualify? No 5-card suits, no Aces, and barely average in the filler department. But the good news is that all of the honors are in 4-card suits, and are working well together, so on balance we’d say that it’s worth making a move.
Board 18 Dealer East N-S Vul
Here we show both hands with a couple of gaps in the auction:
North South ♠ AKJ75 ♠ T43 ♥ AJ5 ♥ K9 ♦ QT6 ♦ K97543 ♣ K8 ♣ 64
West North East South Pass Pass 1♣ 1♠ 3♣ ?? Pass ??
East’s preemptive 3♣ has caused problems for North and South, let’s look at both hands and see how the partnership can reach the good game. We can think of 3 possible routes: - South passes, North comes back in with a Double, and South jumps to 4♠ … this one we do not like at all, South’s bidding is inconsistent. - South dredges up 3♠, which is perhaps something of an overbid, but such bids are sometimes necessary when the opponents preempt - South passes, North doubles, South bids 3♠, and North takes it to game unaided … now it is North who is overbidding, going to game opposite a potentially very weak hand … but, in these situations, we are entitled to expect something from Partner.
Well, somebody has to overbid if game is to be reached, who should it be? Our own preference would be for South to stretch to a direct 3♠, but you’ll find plenty of learned opinion which would place the onus on North to get her side to game, with or without encouragement from Partner. It’s one of those situations where it pays to know Partner’s style. For example, if South is known to be a direct 3♠ bidder in this situation, then North can set a higher standard for the hands where she goes to game single-handedly.
Board 19 Dealer South E-W Vul
This hand shows a quirk (oh, alright, a defect) in the 2/1 game-forcing style. We are not strong enough to bid 2♥, so, notwithstanding our fine Heart suit and excellent distribution, we have to mark time with a Forcing 1NT bid. This is a problem that SAYC players would not have, they would bid 2♥ and then 3♥, describing their hands rather well. Some 2/1 players get round this problem by using the sequence 1♠ 3♥ as invitational.
Board 22 Dealer East E-W Vul
We’d rate this hand as too good for a 3♣ preempt, especially considering the outside Ace. On the other hand, it’s not good enough for a limit raise of 2♠ (but it’s pretty close!), so our plan would be to bid 2♣, planning to bid 3♣ later.
If you remember Board 11, you may be wondering why we suggested a bid of 4♥ then (rather than 3♥, followed by 4♥ if necessary), whereas here we suggest 2♣ then 3♣. Isn’t this inconsistent? No, on Board 11 Partner had limited her hand, so South was entitled to take charge and make what she thought was the best tactical bid. But here Partner is unlimited and still very much in the auction. Therefore we should simply describe our hand as best we can, without making decisions which are not ours to make.
Board 22 Dealer East E-W Vul
Only 10 HCP’s opposite a simple overcall, but, with such playing strength and those good controls, this is a hand which is surely going to game. But by what route? - We could bid 2♥ along the way (or 3♥ if our methods are that 2♥ is non-forcing), but why bother? We have a known Spade fit, and should let Partner in on the secret … we would hate it if we bid 2♥, West bid 5♣ and the bidding came back to us. No, we definitely want to show our Spade support right away. - How about 4♠? Not our choice, we’d prefer to reserve this bid for primarily preemptive raises. - 3♣ is a reasonable possibility, planning to follow up with a 4♠ bid … typically, 3♣ will show Spade support, but that’s not a certainty, especially for those pairs who play that a new suit is not forcing. - Our choice would be 4♣, a Splinter Raise, showing game values, Club shortness, and Spade support … it’s highly unlikely that we have slam on this hand, but hopefully making this descriptive bid will help Partner judge well if the opponents bid 5♣ (yes, the opponents are vulnerable, but they probably have about half the points, so with a really big Club fit and/or a Spade void they might well push on to 5♣).
Board 24 Dealer West None Vul
North’s 2♥ showed Spades and a minor, and our 2♠ showed at least an invitational raise in Hearts. We don’t know whether 4♦ is a slam try, Partner could just be telling us that this is our hand, creating a Forcing Pass situation and paving the way for a co-operative auction if the opponents bid on to 4♠.
It was very kind of North to double 4♦, she has now presented us with a couple of extra options, namely Pass and Redouble. What are your partnership agreements in this situation? The first thing to decide is the relative meanings of Pass and 4♠, and different interpretations are in use: - One school of thought is that Pass is always the weakest bid in these situations, and we have to say that this has an intuitive ring to it. Incidentally, this is the treatment that is defined in SAYC. - The other school of thought is that bidding 4♠ here is the weak action, and strangely enough this also seems intuitive, at least if you follow the Principle of Fast Arrival, whereby going straight to game shows weakness. This is the treatment favored in Bridge World Standard (a “consensus” system based on a poll of a couple of hundred experts)
There you have it, something to agree with Partner, take your pick. How about a Redouble? This is surely encouraging for the purposes of slam, and a reasonable interpretation is that it shows a control in Diamonds.
With the above in mind, back to the problem at hand. What is our bid? We would make the bid that is encouraging, and by our failure to redouble, it’s reasonable for Partner to assume that we have at least two Diamond losers.
Board 25 Dealer North E-W Vul
Quite a hand! We don’t need much more than a useful Ace from Partner to be able to make slam. Does this mean that we should open the hand 2♣? We certainly have the playing strength, but nonetheless we don’t like 2♣ here, for a number of reasons: - For a 2♣ opener, we’d prefer more HCP’s and more defense. - With such an extreme two-suiter, we’d prefer to start bidding our suits right away at the one-level, all the better to convey our extreme shape. - There is virtually no danger of getting passed out in 1♥, there are just too many HCP’s out there, and too much distribution.
So, we’d open 1♥, planning a reverse into 2♠.
Board 26 Dealer East Both Vul
How do you and your Partner play 3♦ in the featured auction? One common agreement is that it shows a Mixed Raise, that is to say a hand with 4-card support and something a little less than a limit raise. As Mixed Raises go, we’d say that South is pretty maximum.
If you play the jump cue as showing a Mixed Raise, it’s important to recognize when it applies and when it does not. The basic rule is that it must be a jump cue-bid opposite an overcalling Partner, that the jump must be to the 3-level, and that the cue-bid is below 3 of Partner suit. Let’s try some auctions:
West North East South 1♦ 1♥ 1♠ 3♦ Yes, a Mixed Raise.
1♦ 1♥ 1♠ 3♠ A Splinter Raise (above 3 of Partner’s Hearts)
1♦ 2♣ Pass 3♦ Another Splinter (above 3♣)
Pass 1♠ 2♣ 3♣ Not a jump, and also not opposite an overcaller, it’s just a normal cue-bid.
Board 27 Dealer South None Vul
N-S are playing Inverted Minors (3♦ is preemptive). What next? As a general rule, we avoid making Takeout Doubles with a 5-3 in the majors, it’s usually better to bid the 5-card suit. But here East is at the 3-level, and his Spade suit is very poor, so surely Double is the way to go here. If we bid 3♠, Partner would be quite entitled to raise our Spades holding Kx or Ax, and that’s the last thing we want to hear.
However, if North had bid a weak 2♦ instead of that weak 3♦, then 2♠ would not be unreasonable, Partner won’t expect more than a 5-card suit. Having said that, our Spades are so bad, there is something to be said for treating it as a 4-card suit and also doubling 2♦.
Board 31 Dealer South N-S Vul
As passed hands go, West’s hand is quite maximum, and the way to show that is with a Double. North’s auction shows 18-19 HCP’s, but there’s still the prospect of a juicy penalty if Partner has a decent overcall. Not such a difficult problem, but it’s worthwhile considering the difference between the aforementioned Double and the one that follows: West North East South Pass Pass 1♣ 1♦ Pass 1♥ 2♣ Pass Pass Dbl What does this Double mean? Well, what is doesn’t show is a maximum original Pass (though West might also have one of those). No, it merely shows a hand that does not want to sell out to 2♣, and which would like Partner to make the decision.
The basic message here is that a Double of 1NT is value-showing and primarily penalty-oriented, whereas the low-level Double of a suit bid is generally takeout-oriented and could be made on lesser values.
Board 32 Dealer West E-W Vul
Oh, those pesky preempts, don’t you just hate them! How would you handle this lovely 17-count? We can think of three different ways that make sense, and we’ll further say that we think all three of them have their merits: - How about 4♥? Somewhat agricultural, perhaps, but not completely unreasonable. Sure, we wish we had better Hearts, and, yes, maybe 3NT will be a better spot, but we’d bet that 4♥ is where this hand belongs more often than not. - How about 3♥? Perhaps a slight underbid, but at least it gives Partner the chance to bid 3♠ (looking for 3NT) if she has good values in the minors and no Heart fit. - How about Double and then 3♥? This sequence is not forcing but it does show a really good hand, this one may well qualify. As you can see, we don’t have strong views on this one, but if we were forced to make a choice, this would probably be it.
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